Wang Yangming's Original Ming Dynasty Calligraphy Sold at Auction for 21 Billion Won

Attracting Attention with a Starting Bid of 770 Million Won
"The Highest Price Ever for a Ming Dynasty Calligraphy Work"

A work by Wang Yangming, known as a philosopher, politician, and military officer of the mid-Ming Dynasty in China, was sold at auction for 109 million yuan (approximately 21.07733 billion won).

According to local media outlets such as China.com on May 15, Wang Yangming's calligraphy piece was sold for 109 million yuan at an auction held in Osaka, Japan, on May 10.

Wang Yangming artwork sold for 2.107733 billion won. Weibo

China.com reported that this is "the highest price ever for a Ming Dynasty calligraphy work," adding that it is "injecting vitality into the global art market."

According to the report, the starting bid for Wang Yangming's poetry scroll was about 400,000 yuan (approximately 770 million won). Intense competition began from the start of the bidding, and one participant even offered 200 million yen (about 1.9099 billion won). China.com stated, "During the bidding process, the price soared by increments of 100 million yen (about 950 million won) at a time."

China.com further explained that the work is "a seven-character poem written by Wang Yangming, signed as 'Written by Yangmingshanin (楊明山人)'," and added, "It measures 744 cm in length and 32 cm in width, making it large overall and well preserved."

Wang Yangming's real name was Wang Shouren (1472?1528), and Yangming was his courtesy name. He was a Confucian scholar of the Ming Dynasty who founded the Yangming School of thought. The Yangming School was established in criticism of Zhu Xi's Neo-Confucianism, which at the time was focused on passing the imperial examination, and it is known to have greatly influenced many people of the era.